With the increase in requirement for miniaturization of semiconductor devices, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMSs), and other devices, fine processing technology (also called photo-nanoimprint technology), in which a resist (curable composition for photoimprint) is molded with a mold on a substrate (wafer) to form a resist pattern on the substrate, has been attracting attentions, in addition to known photolithography technology.
In the photo-nanoimprint technology described in PTL 1, a resist is applied to a pattern-forming region on a substrate (arrangement step). Subsequently, the resist is molded using a mold provided with a pattern (mold contact step). The resist is cured by irradiation with light (light irradiation step) and is then detached (mold-releasing step) to form a resin pattern (photocured product) on the substrate. The whole process described above is repeated at another position on the substrate to form a fine structure on the entire substrate.
In some cases of producing, for example, a semiconductor device or MEMS, a substrate that has been already machined is further micromachined by photo-nanoimprint technology. In such a case, it is necessary to exactly adjust the position of the mold with respect to the pattern already formed on the substrate. This step is called alignment step and is performed between the mold contact step and the light irradiation step. Furthermore, in many cases of the photo-nanoimprint technology, a series of steps (shot) from the arrangement step to the mold-releasing step is performed plural times on one substrate.